OTRC: Mike Tyson races pigeons in new Animal Planet show (Video)

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The former heavyweight boxing champ races pigeons on new show 'Taking on Tyson', set to debut in the 2010-11 season. He is shown speaking about his new show in a promotional interview released in April 2010. (Discovery Communications)

Mike Tyson races pigeons in his new Animal Planet show, "Taking on Tyson," and says he is looking to "establish some more credibility in the pigeon world."

The six-episode series is set to debut on March 6. Tyson, a 44-year-old heavyweight boxing champion who famously bit off part of Evander Holyfield's ear in a 1997 fight, has been raising pigeons for years.

"There may be confrontations, you know, because pigeon racing is very confrontational," Tyson said in a video provided by the channel's parent company, Discovery Communications.

The group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has condemned Tyson's new show.

Tyson's status as a pop culture icon was cemented last year with a role in the hit comedy film "The Hangover." But he has faced multiple criminal and financial problems. He was convicted in 1992 of raping an 18-year-old beauty pageant contestant and served three years in prison. In 2003, he declared bankruptcy and he retired from professional boxing in 2006. In the past four years, Tyson was also arrested on drug and alcohol-related charges.